The Shadows of the Trees
by Dream Theme
Summary: The people who lived on the outskirts had long ago marked these trees as cursed. Even Jack felt something sinister among them. The branches of the trees always seemed to reach out and grab at you. The paths would change daily, meaning you could never follow the same one twice. And sometimes, the 50 year old teenager could hear mischievous laughter. - The Big Four minus Hiccup


**Sorry about my rubbish Scottish accent. I'm not very good and typing out phonetically, but I gave it a damn good try. Another request on my tumblr. The anon wanted both Merida and Rapunzel to get lost separately in the woods and Jack to happen upon them both. I hope I managed to do the characters justice. Please, Enjoy.**

**Oh I always forget to do disclaimers damn. I don't own any of the characters and I'm not making any profit. This is written purely for the fun of it.**

"Urgh! Ah can't believe Ah'm lost. Again." Jack frowned. The voice definitely belonged to a female and had come from somewhere to his right. He started heading in that direction, wanting to see who would be in these woods in the middle of winter. The people who lived on the outskirts of them had long ago marked these trees as cursed, since most who went in had never come out again. Even Jack felt something sinister among them. The branches of the trees always seemed to reach out and grab him, the paths would change daily, meaning you could never follow the same one twice, and sometimes, the 50 year old teenager could hear laughter.

So who would risk themselves like that in the coldest season? Jack followed the sounds of a girl angrily talking to herself and dragging an obviously hesitant horse with her.

"Follow th' river' she said 'ye'll be out in no time' she said. How can Ah follow th' river when there are brambles and bushes in th' way!" He landed in a little ways in front of her, watching as she ducked under low hanging branches and climbing over patches of thorny bushes and large rocks. Every so often, her wild messy hair would get caught in the trees and they would pull her back, earning a cry of frustration from the irritated red-head. The horse spotted the Winter Spirit and whinnied nervously catching the attention of his owner.

"Wha' is it, Angus?" she looked around them, hoping to not see anything that would attack them Seeing nothing, not even Jack, her face soured even more and she started moving again. "Ah just wanna get outta this place!" She continued past the invisible boy, muttering under her breath the whole time. Jack sighed. He had been hoping - as he always had - that the girl would have seen him. Animals saw him, quite obviously, but no matter how much he tried, he could not get the human attention he craved. He tapped the closest branch with his staff, frosting it over before asking the wind to take him above the trees. His cloak swirled around him as the wind complied with his wishes and he set off again.

He saw the long blonde streak just as he was about to head back to the small village where he lived. It was moving fast and shortening. He raced after it, wanting to know what it was. It was most likely a trick by the tree spirits, but something urged the Winter Spirit to look for the source of the blonde. It didn't take long for him to see the girl in the purple dress. The long streak of yellow was connected to her head and was flying out behind her as she ran, trying to gather it in her arms. Jack almost flew into a tree in shock as he realised the yellow stuff was _hair_ and lots of it. The girl had finally managed to gather all her hair into her arms, never once having to break a step as she ran. He followed her, wondering exactly why it looked like she was running for her life. It took five minutes before she finally slowed to a stop, desperately trying to get her breathing back to normal.

"What are you running from?" He breathed. Standing right next to her, she would've heard it if he'd been visible to her. She looked behind her as though checking to see if she were free from whatever was chasing her. The girl sighed in relief and carried on walking. Jack walked behind her, watching her, thinking. She was pretty. Her impossibly long blonde hair was still in her arms. The bundle looked heavy and Jack wished he could at least share the burden, but not being seen meant he would only pass through her. She didn't look strong enough to get herself out of trouble when she ran into it - and she most certainly would run into it in these trees - and the strange creatures here would definitely see her vulnerability. He tapped his staff against the ground and watched as the frost spread as they walked. The familiar crackling sound was hardly noticeable to him, but the girl heard it and turned around and frowned in confusion at the sudden appearance of the still spreading frost. It reached her bare feet and she shuddered from the cold.

"What…?" she whispered. Apprehension clouded her face and she back away from it, keeping her eyes fixed on the frost. Jack grinned as he thought of an idea that would help her. That other girl, the one with the red hair looked strong enough to keep herself and this one safe. If he could only lead them to each other…

They couldn't see him, but they could see his frost. Frost would be all he needed. Laughing, he tapped his staff on the floor once again, willing it into the shape of a bird. As it formed, he flew above the tops of the bare trees, trying to get a glimpse of the red-head. It didn't take him long. Her fiery hair was partially obstructed by the branches, but it was bright enough to see. He went back down to the blonde and made an arrow shape with the frost

_This way_

The girl looked bewildered, but followed the arrow nonetheless. Jack laughed as he made 3 more arrows, just far enough apart that she could just see the next one as she reached one. He then flew in the direction of the red-head, hoping to stop her progress and force her to go the way the blonde was. He reached her just as she growled in frustration.

"I will no' give up!" She repeated it to herself like a mantra, trying to get herself to believe it. Jack made an image of the girl's horse with the frost on the ground in front of her. The red-head looked down, brow furrowed. Before she could say anything, more frost appeared and created an arrow, pointing a little to the east of her. She stared down at it, uncertainty evident in her expression. With no small amount of hesitation, she followed it, dragging the horse with her.

"Come on, Angus. Maybe there are some good spirits in these godforsaken woods." The horse looked directly at Jack and whinnied in agreement with his owner.

Jack hurried back and forth between the two girls, hoping that they would make it to each other soon. He grinned a little more with each arrow he made, each one a little more complicated and beautiful than the last. The blonde one seemed to appreciate the intricate patterns he created more than the red-head, but even she made noises that showed she was impressed. After what seemed like hours, they finally bumped into each other. The trees seemed to crowd in around them, none too pleased that two victims had managed to find each other.

"Who are ye?"

"Eer, Rapunzel. What's your name?" The red-head seemed a little nervous as she answered.

"Ah'm Merida" She was about to speak again, but a quiet crackling of frost made both girls turn their heads to the nearest tree. There, on the black bark of the tree, silver frost formed the grinning face of a boy. As they watched, the frost moved to imitate him laughing before it all joined together to make a meaningless pattern.

"I was told these trees were unlucky. Full of bad spirits who wanted to eat you." Rapunzel whispered in awe.

"Ah guess they go' tha' wrong then." Jack watched for a couple of minutes more, confident that they would get along and help each other out. He smiled as he left them behind in the trees, creating a trail of frost for them to follow to the closest edge of the woods. It would stay there for a few days, giving them time enough to follow it and get out. He chuckled quietly. It felt good to help people out.

Back with the girls, they watched a path of frost form, silent in their wonder. Something flickered in between the trees as they watched and for a moment they saw the shadow of a boy flying away from them. He held a staff in his hand. He soon disappeared again though, lost in the dark of the woods.


End file.
